What Is SoftRadio and How Does It Accelerate IoT Development?
SoftRadio is a remote online debugging system that enables end‑to‑end integration testing for NB‑IoT devices on Huawei’s OceanConnect platform, offering three‑layer functionality, REST‑based APIs, and CoAP over UDP simulation to improve development efficiency while remaining a test‑only feature.
What Is SoftRadio?
SoftRadio is a system used for remote online debugging, allowing developers to perform end‑to‑end integration verification when modules or base stations are not yet ready, thereby improving device access and debugging efficiency.
Why Is SoftRadio Valuable?
Huawei OceanConnect IoT platform, which unifies NB‑IoT services, requires SoftRadio to simulate NB‑IoT devices for ecosystem expansion. It is also used in Huawei NB‑IoT chip development and supports the TUP protocol for platform integration.
1. Functions
SoftRadio consists of three layers:
Chip‑terminal developers : Connect chips to SoftRadio to observe or report data to the platform.
Developers without chips : Build terminal applications, connect to SoftRadio to view and synchronize data streams.
Network Application developers : Simulate real devices reporting data and commands via SoftRadio.
2. Value
Enables remote integration verification of NB‑IoT devices and services via a remote lab.
Provides offshore joint debugging to improve development efficiency.
Allows developers without chips to participate in terminal‑app development.
Can simulate real devices for data reporting.
Working Principle
SoftRadio connects to the platform through southbound REST APIs.
Key APIs
Binding API : Sends verifyCode and device details to obtain deviceID, appID, and password.
Login API : Uses the obtained credentials to log in, receiving a token for CoAP subscription notifications.
MO API : Sends the full CoAP message and token to the platform’s SR Adapt, which forwards it as CoAP over UDP.
MT API : Retrieves downlink CoAP messages from the platform, one per request.
MO/MT Message Flow
Authentication uses deviceID and accessToken to verify the APPID, gatewayID, and device list. MO messages decode the payload from base64 and forward it via the CoAP pool; MT messages are fetched from the database, encoded in base64, and returned to SoftRadio.
CoAP over UDP Simulation
The OceanConnect platform implements SR Adapt to simulate real‑chip data reporting and command issuance, exposing southbound REST interfaces for SoftRadio.
CoAP connection pool : Supports up to 1000 CoAP server connections, using ports 30000‑30999 on 127.0.0.1. Connections are bound to deviceID and reclaimed after 16 seconds of inactivity.
CoAP protocol stack : Handles packet sending and receiving, routing MO and MT messages between SoftRadio and the platform.
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